On 1 January 2012, Australia's state and territory OHS laws will be replaced by the new Work Health and Safety Act.

A significant requirement of the new legislation, referred to as the "fifth element" of the due diligence obligation, calls for OHS officers to ensure their organisation has, implements and documents processes for complying with duties under the act.

According to Norton Rose's head of occupational health, safety and security Asia Pacific, partner Michael Tooma, the new obligations will require officers of companies to take proactive steps to ensure and document their company's work health and safety compliance.

"This will be an arduous process for many, requiring officers of companies to put considerable thought into the systems and processes that their company will need to meet this obligation," said Tooma.

"N-sure is designed to take the guesswork out of company compliance by providing a system that allows for easy identification of requirements and documentation and control of corrective action measures to demonstrate that processes are in place for discharging this aspect of the due diligence obligation."